Method and arrangement for providing a primary actions menu on a handheld communication device

ABSTRACT

A method and hierarchical menu is provided for displaying on the screen of a handheld electronic device an extended menu or a short menu, which is a subset of the corresponding extended menu. The method includes displaying a page on a screen and receiving an ambiguous request/selection when no menu is displayed. In response to the ambiguous selection, a short menu corresponding to the displayed page is displayed on the screen. Various short menus are provided with their respective menu items being dependent and adjustable based upon the position of a cursor on the displayed page, the currently opened application, and/or the previous selections. Further, a selection from the short menu is capable of displaying the extended menu corresponding thereto.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Nos. 60/773,145, 60/773,798, 60/773,799, and 60/773,800filed Feb. 13, 2006, Feb. 14, 2006, Feb. 14, 2006, and Feb. 14, 2006,respectively. Said applications are expressly incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the user interface ofsoftware applications, and more particularly, to a hierarchical in-placemenu that replaces parent menus with submenus.

BACKGROUND

Most conventional application programs are menu-driven as opposed tobeing command-driven. Menu-driven applications provide a list ofpossible commands or options from which a user may choose, whilecommand-driven applications require users to enter explicit commands.Thus, menu-driven applications are generally easier for the average userto learn than are command-driven applications. Menus are typicallyimplemented as a list of textual or graphical choices (i.e., menu items)from which a user can choose. Thus, menus allow a user to select a menuitem, for example, by pointing to the item with a mouse and thenclicking on the item. Examples of other methods of selecting menu itemsinclude highlighting an item and then hitting the “return” key or“enter” key, and pressing on a menu item through a touch-sensitivescreen.

One particularly useful type of menu is a hierarchical menu. An exampleof a conventional hierarchical menu 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1. Asshown in FIG. 1, hierarchical menus 100 typically present a parent menu115 that has selectable menu items. The selection of each menu itemnormally causes another menu, or submenu 116 to be displayed next to thecurrently displayed menu. The submenu 116 has additional menu choicesthat are related to the selected parent menu item which results in thedisplay of the submenu. The depth of a hierarchical menu can extend inthis manner to many levels of submenus (shown as four levels in FIG. 1).

The example menu shown in FIG. 1 illustrates how conventionalhierarchical menus 100 generally lay out from left to right across adisplay screen as menu choices are selected. This menu format providesvarious advantages such as retaining previous and current menus on thedisplay screen at the same time. This provides a historical menu map asmenu selections are made and their corresponding submenus are displayedacross the screen. Users can therefore review previous menu selectionsthat have been made while progressing to the most recently displayedmenu, making it easier to move between different menu items anddifferent menu levels.

Although such hierarchical menus provide useful advantages, there arescenarios in which their use is impracticable. One such scenario is whenhierarchical menus are used on devices having small display screens. Theproblems presented when attempting to implement conventionalhierarchical menus on small-screen devices have generally discouragedthe use of hierarchical menus with such devices. FIG. 2 illustrates anexample of how the hierarchical menu 100 of FIG. 1 may appear on thedisplay screen of a small-screen device, for example, a PDA 300 a.

As indicated above, hierarchical menus generally lay out across thedisplay screen from left to right. On small-screen devices where theroom on the screen is not wide enough to accommodate all of the menus,the menus often lay out across the screen in both directions, from leftto right and back again. In this scenario, the menus typically begin tooverlap one another, creating various problems. One problem is that theoverlapping menus can be confusing to the user, as FIG. 2 illustrates.Overlapping menus can make it difficult for a user to discern previousmenu selections which can, in turn, make it difficult to determine howto return to previous menus to make different menu selections. Thus, oneof the intended benefits of a hierarchical menu can be undermined whenthe hierarchical menu is implemented on a small-screen device.

Overlapping menus can also create problems with small-screen devices (aswell as others) that employ pen-based or stylus-based touch-sensitivescreens. With such devices, it is often difficult to maintain contactcontinuity between menus on the screen when the menus are overlapping.In other words, it is easy to move off of menus with small-screen,touch-based devices. If continuity is lost when moving from one menu toanother, menus will often disappear from the screen, causing the user tohave to go back and reactivate the menu from a prior menu. This problembecomes worse when using pen-based devices that “track”. In the presentcontext, the terminology of “tracking” is used to indicate a situationin which a cursor on the screen follows (tracks) the movement of the penas the pen moves over the screen even though the pen is not touching thescreen. Tracking is lost if the pen is pulled too far away from thescreen. Thus, pen-based devices that “track” tend to lose more menuswhen hierarchical menus are employed.

One method of addressing this issue involves displaying submenus inplace of a parent menu, and vice versa, when the appropriate menu itemsare selected from within the parent menus and submenus. FIG. 5illustrates an exemplary hierarchical in-place menu 500. The dashedlines 506 of FIG. 5 are intended to indicate that each of the menus 502,504, 510 and 512 of the hierarchical in-place menu 500 are displayedseparately from or “in place” of one another. Like a typicalhierarchical menu, the depth of a hierarchical in-place menu 500 canextend in this manner to many levels of submenus such as second, third,fourth and fifth levels, with submenus being parent menus to othersubmenus. Parent menu items selected from within parent menus aredisplayed within submenus as links back to previous parent menus and areseparated from that submenu's items by a divider 514. For example,parent menu item “Launch App” shown in parent menu 502 includes aforward pointer 508 that indicates a submenu will replace parent menu502 upon selection of “Launch App” from within parent menu 502. In eachof the submenus 504, 510 and 512, “Launch App” has a backward pointingarrow to allow going back to a previous menu in the hierarchy.

However, another disadvantage of hierarchical menus in general is thenumber of menu items presented in each menu. Each of the menus providesthe full complement of available menu items. This can be overwhelmingfor a novice user and irritating to an experienced user. This problem isexacerbated to an extent by the addition of a hierarchical history ofparent menus added to the list.

Another approach to the problem of dealing with a full or extended menu,which lists all available menu items at that particular level uses aradio communication device that provides an extended menu and a shortmenu that is a subset of the extended menu and the ability to selectbetween the two. The short menu is a dynamic menu that is built by theuser by selecting menu items from the corresponding extended menu toinclude in the short menu.

A disadvantage of this approach is that the novice user will be furtheroverwhelmed with having to build the various short menus. Theexperienced user may be disinclined from having to go through theinitial set-up procedure of the short menus.

Another disadvantage of a hierarchical menu system is the requirement ofproceeding through each menu of the hierarchy to reach the desiredaction or menu item. This process adds various steps that can frustrateusers, due to the lack of intuitiveness to getting from point A to pointB from the user's point of view.

Accordingly, as the demand for small-screen devices capable of runningincreasingly complex applications continues to grow, the need exists fora way to implement hierarchical menus that overcomes the variousdisadvantages with conventional hierarchical menus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary methods and arrangements conducted and configured according tothe advantageous solutions presented herein are depicted in theaccompanying drawings where in:

FIG. 1 illustrates one type of hierarchical menu;

FIG. 2 illustrates an attempt at implementing the hierarchical menu ofFIG. 1 on a small-screen computing device;

FIG. 3 a illustrates various examples of computing devices that aresuitable environments in which to implement embodiments of hierarchicalmenus;

FIG. 3 b illustrates an exemplary QWERTY keyboard layout;

FIG. 3 c illustrates an exemplary QWERTZ keyboard layout;

FIG. 3 d illustrates an exemplary AZERTY keyboard layout;

FIG. 3 e illustrates an exemplary Dvorak keyboard layout;

FIG. 3 f illustrates a QWERTY keyboard layout paired with a traditionalten-key keyboard;

FIG. 3 g illustrates ten digits comprising the numerals 0-9 arranged ason a telephone keypad, including the * and # astride the zero;

FIG. 3 h illustrates a numeric phone key arrangement according to theITU Standard E.161 including both numerals and letters;

FIG. 3 j is a front view of an exemplary handheld electronic deviceincluding a full QWERTY keyboard;

FIG. 3 k is a front view of another exemplary handheld electronic deviceincluding a full QWERTY keyboard;

FIG. 3 m is a front view of an exemplary handheld electronic deviceincluding a reduced QWERTY keyboard;

FIG. 3 n is an elevational view of the front face of another exemplaryhandheld electronic device including a reduced QWERTY keyboard;

FIG. 3 p is a detail view of an alternative reduced QWERTY keyboard;

FIG. 3 r is a detail view of the reduced QWERTY keyboard of device ofFIG. 15;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a computer in the form ofa PDA that is suitable for implementing a hierarchical menu;

FIG. 5 illustrates a hierarchical menu implemented on a computer such asa PDA;

FIGS. 6 a-6 g illustrate an embodiment of a hierarchical menuimplemented on a computer such as a handheld electronic device;

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a hierarchical menu (short menu)implemented on a computer such as a handheld electronic device;

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a method for implementing ahierarchical menu with ambiguous selection on a computer device such asa handheld electronic device, for example, a PDA or other similar devicehaving a small display screen;

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment suitable forimplementing an exemplary computer as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 a is a perspective view of a handheld electronic device cradledin a user's hand;

FIG. 10 b is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary wirelesshandheld electronic device incorporating a trackball assembly as theauxiliary user input; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram representing a wireless handheld electronicdevice interacting in a communication network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As intimated hereinabove, one of the more important aspects of thehandheld electronic device to which this disclosure is directed is itssize. While some users will grasp the device in both hands, it isintended that a predominance of users will cradle the device in one handin such a manner that input and control over the device can be affectedusing the thumb of the same hand in which the device is held. Thereforethe size of the device must be kept relatively small; of its dimensions,limiting the width of the device is most important with respect toassuring cradleability in a user's hand. Moreover, it is preferred thatthe width of the device be maintained at less than ten centimeters(approximately four inches). Keeping the device within these dimensionallimits provides a hand cradleable unit that users prefer for itsuseability and portability. Limitations with respect to the height(length) of the device are less stringent with importance placed onmaintaining device hand-cradleablability. Therefore, in order to gaingreater size, the device can be advantageously configured so that itsheight is greater than its width, but still remain easily supported andoperated in one hand.

A potential problem is presented by the small size of the device in thatthere is limited exterior surface area for the inclusion of user inputand device output features. This is especially true for the “prime realestate” of the front face of the device where it is most advantageous toinclude a display screen that outputs information to the user and whichis preferably above a keyboard utilized for data entry into the deviceby the user. If the screen is provided below the keyboard, a problemoccurs in being able to see the screen while inputting data. Thereforeit is preferred that the display screen be above the input area, therebysolving the problem by assuring that the hands and fingers do not blockthe view of the screen during data entry periods.

To facilitate textual data entry, an alphabetic keyboard is provided. Inone version, a full alphabetic keyboard is utilized in which there isone key per letter. This is preferred by some users because it can bearranged to resemble a standard keyboard with which they are mostfamiliar. In this regard, the associated letters can be advantageouslyorganized in QWERTY, QWERTZ or AZERTY layouts, among others, therebycapitalizing on certain users' familiarity with these special letterorders. In order to stay within the bounds of a limited front surfacearea, however, each of the keys must be commensurately small when, forexample, twenty-six keys must be provided in the instance of the Englishlanguage. An alternative configuration is to provide a reduced keyboardin which at least some of the keys have more than one letter associatedtherewith. This means that fewer keys can be included which makes itpossible for those fewer keys to each be larger than in the instancewhen a full keyboard is provided on a similarly dimensioned device. Someusers will prefer the solution of the larger keys over the smaller ones,but it is necessary that software or hardware solutions be provided inorder to discriminate which of the several associated letters the userintends based on a particular key actuation; a problem the full keyboardavoids. Preferably, this character discrimination is accomplishedutilizing disambiguation software accommodated within the device. Aswith the other software programs embodied within the device, a memoryand microprocessor are provided within the body of the handheld unit forreceiving, storing, processing, and outputting data during use.Therefore, the problem of needing a textual data input means is solvedby the provision of either a full or reduced alphabetic keyboard on thepresently disclosed handheld electronic device.

Keys, typically of a push-button or push-pad nature, perform well asdata entry devices but present problems to the user when they must alsobe used to affect navigational control over a screen-cursor. In order tosolve this problem the present handheld electronic device preferablyincludes an auxiliary input that acts as a cursor navigational tool andwhich is also exteriorly located upon the front face of the device. Itsfront face location is particularly advantageous because it makes thetool easily thumb-actuable like the keys of the keyboard. A particularlyusable embodiment provides the navigational tool in the form of atrackball which is easily utilized to instruct two-dimensional screencursor movement in substantially any direction, as well as act as anactuator when the ball of the trackball is depressible like a button.The placement of the trackball is preferably above the keyboard andbelow the display screen; here, it avoids interference duringkeyboarding and does not block the user's view of the display screenduring use.

In some configurations, the handheld electronic device may be standalonein that it is not connectable to the “outside world.” One example wouldbe a PDA that stores such things as calendars and contact information,but is not capable of synchronizing or communicating with other devices.In most situations such isolation will be detrimentally viewed in thatat least synchronization is a highly desired characteristic of handhelddevices today. Moreover, the utility of the device is significantlyenhanced when connectable within a system, and particularly whenconnectable on a wireless basis in a system in which both voice and textmessaging are accommodated.

In one respect, the present disclosure is directed toward a method fordisplaying an abbreviated menu on the screen of a handheld electronicdevice, variously configured as described above, at the request of theuser. Typical examples of such devices include PDAs, mobile telephonesand multi-mode communicator devices such as those capable oftransmitting both voice and text messages such as email. The methodincludes displaying a cursor-navigable page on a screen of a handheldelectronic device. One example would be the text of an email message.Next, the user initiates an ambiguous request for the display of menuoptions corresponding to the displayed page while a cursor is positionedat a location on the page that is not visually signified for menudisplay actuation. For instance, with the screen cursor positioned uponthe body of the email message, but where there is no visual indicatorthat the location is one which will cause a menu to be displayed ifactuated, an action is taken such as pressing a button on the devicethat indicates the user's desire to take an action with respect to thedisplayed page (email message). There are several actions which might betaken with respect to the email message, but none has been specified;therefore, the request is termed ambiguous. Responsively, the device,under the control of an included microprocessor, displays a short menuhaving a first list of menu items which is a subset of a second list ofmenu items that make up an extended menu associated with the displayedpage. This first list of menu items has been assessed a higherprobability for being user-selected or desired than at least some of theremaining items of the second list. This means that there is a long list(the second list) of actions that might be taken when the email messageis displayed, but there is a short subset (the first list) of this longlist which has been assessed to be more frequently selected/desired, soit is this short listing of selectable actions that is displayed inresponse to the user's ambiguous request.

In at least one version of the device, the user's ambiguous request ismade through an auxiliary user input device on the handheld electronicdevice. One example of the auxiliary user input device is a navigationtool that controls movement of the cursor on the screen of the handheldelectronic device, such as a trackball.

The device may also include an input that issues non-ambiguous requestto display the extended menu associated with the displayed page, andwhich may be simply constituted by an actuable button or the like.

In order to facilitate usability, it is also contemplated thatselectable items on the short listing can include choices to expand theshort menu to the extended menu, or to close the short menu. In order toreinforce the commonality between the extended menu choice on the shortlist and the dedicated dedicated push-button for the long list, each ismarked with a similar insignia.

In order to take full advantage of the small screen of the handhelddevice, the short menu is displayed on the screen in place of thedisplayed page, and preferably fills a substantial entirety of thescreen.

As intimated above, the handheld electronic device can take the form ofa wireless handheld communication device that transmits data to, andreceives data from a communication network utilizing radio frequencysignals. By way of example and not limitation, the data transmittedbetween the handheld electronic device and the communication networkmight exemplarily support voice and textual messaging.

To further enhance usability, the handheld electronic device can besized to be cradled in the palm of a user's hand. Owing to this smallsize, the device can be easily grasped by a user and cradled in the palmof the hand. In at least one configuration, the size of the device issufficiently small to allow the user to use only fingers and/or thumbs(digits) of the same hand within which the device is grasped to inputdata.

In order to achieve comfortable cradling and still provide sufficient“real estate” for the necessary inputs and displays, the device can beadvantageously longer than it is wide. This is because it is the widthof the device that primarily impacts the fit of the device in a user'shand. To that end, the handheld electronic device preferably measuresbetween approximately two and three inches.

The device also carries a keyboard suitable for accommodating textualinput, and in a preferred embodiment, the navigation tool is locatedessentially between the keyboard and the screen of the handheldelectronic device. In one version, a full keyboard is provided thatincludes a plurality of keys with which alphabetic letters areassociated, one letter per key. In the instance of the English language,the means at least twenty-six keys for the twenty-six letter of thealphabet. Alternatively, the keyboard may be of a reduced configurationin which at least a portion of the individual keys have multiple lettersassociated therewith. This means that for the English language, fewerthan twenty-six letter keys will be included in such a reduced keyboardexample.

Benefits of the disclosed hierarchical menu system include the abilityto implement a hierarchical menu on devices having varying screen sizes,including small-screen devices. The disclosed hierarchical menu permitsthe display of one menu at a time. In an almost intuitive manner, themethods disclosed allow the user to make an ambiguous selection todirectly open a particular item on a displayed page or to display ashort menu of items typically used with a displayed page. This reducesuser confusion and enhances usability of the system. By using a “menu”item on the short menu or a “menu” key, the user always has the optionto view the extended menu associated with the displayed page. By using a“back” menu item or key, the user can navigate to previously displayedmenus within the string of historically selected without cluttering thedisplayed menus with such historical items.

FIG. 3 a shows various examples of computers 300 that are suitableenvironments in which to implement hierarchical menus. A computer 300 istypically capable of performing common computing functions, such asemail, calendaring, task organization, word processing, Web browsing,and so on. Computer 300 may run an open platform operating system, suchas the Windows® brand operating systems from Microsoft®. Computer 300may be implemented as any one of various computing devices that has adisplay screen and supports a GUI (graphical user interface). Suchcomputing devices can include, for example, cell phones, PDAs and otherhandheld electronic devices, pen-based and/or touch-based computers withtouch-sensitive screens, notebooks, laptops, desktops, workstations,server and mainframe computers that include displays, and the like. Oneexemplary implementation of computer 300 is described in more detailbelow with reference to FIG. 9.

In the embodiments described below, computer 300 is generally discussedas being implemented as a small-screen, handheld electronic device suchas, for example, a cell phone, or a PDA (personal digital assistant).Such devices generally provide more limited computing capabilities thana typical personal computer, such as information storage and retrievalcapabilities for personal or business use, including keeping schedulecalendars and address book information. Such devices usually offer someversion of an operating system and various applications. Thus, acomputer 300 implemented as a small-screen, handheld electronic deviceinclude email, phone, SMS (short message service), IM (instantmessaging), organizer and Web applications.

FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a computer 300 asuitable for implementing an embodiment of hierarchical menu withambiguous selection. Computer 300 a is implemented generally as asmall-screen device such as a PDA 300 a (personal digital assistant) inthe exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4.

PDA 300 a includes a processor 400, a volatile memory 402 (i.e., RAM),and a nonvolatile memory 404 (e.g., ROM, hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM,etc.). Nonvolatile memory 404 generally provides storage ofcomputer/processor-readable instructions, data structures, programmodules and other data for PDA 300 a. PDA 300 a may also include variousinput/output 406 devices. Examples of input device 406 (not shown) caninclude a mouse or trackball for moving a cursor and making selections,a touch-sensitive display screen, a stylus pen for making menu inputselections on a touch-sensitive display screen displaying menu optionsand/or soft buttons of a GUI (graphical user interface), hard buttons onthe PDA 300 a structure, and so on. Output device 406 examples (notshown) can include a display screen, a touch-sensitive display screen,an audio speaker, and so on.

PDA 300 a implements an operating system (OS) 408 on processor 400 fromvolatile memory 402. The OS 408 is stored in memory 404 and initiallyloaded from memory 404 into volatile memory 402 by a boot program (notshown). The OS 408 is generally configured to manage other applicationprograms 410 that are also stored in memory 404 and executable onprocessor 400 from volatile memory 402. The OS 408 honors requests forservices made by application programs 410 through predefined applicationprogram interfaces (APIs). More specifically, the OS 408 typicallydetermines the order in which multiple applications 410 execute onprocessor 400 and the execution time allotted for each application 410,manages the sharing of memory 402 among multiple applications 410,handles input and output to and from attached hardware devices (e.g.,hard disks, printers, dial-up ports), and so on. In addition, users cantypically interact directly with the OS 408 through a user interfacesuch as a command language or graphical user interface.

PDA 300 a typically implements various application programs 410 storedin memory 404 and executable on processor 400. Such applications 410might include software programs implementing, for example, wordprocessors, spread sheets, browsers, file share programs, databasemanagement systems (DBMS), peer-to-peer applications, multimediaplayers, computer-aided design tools and the like. Most applications 410are menu-driven programs that provide a list of possible commands oroptions from which a user may choose in order to implement variousapplication functions on the PDA 300 a.

The manner in which menu selections are made often depends upon theparticular type of computer device 300 running an application 410. Forexample, entering a menu selection on a computer 300 (for example, adesktop computer) that has a mouse as an input device 406 may occur bypointing to a menu item with a mouse and then clicking on the item. Manysmall-screen computing devices 300, such as PDA 300 a of FIG. 4,implement GUIs (graphical user interfaces) on touch-sensitive screensthrough which menu selections can be made by pressing a pen or stylus todesired menu choices. Other methods of selecting menu items include, forexample, highlighting menu items and then hitting the “return” key or“enter” key. Yet other methods of selecting menu items includedepressing or clicking a navigation tool like a trackball or trackwheel.

The menuing task is generally performed by a menuing subsystem of anoperating system executing on a computer 300. Accordingly, asillustrated in PDA 300 a of the FIG. 4 embodiment, a “hierarchical menuwith ambiguous selection module” 412 is implemented as part of operatingsystem 408. In general, the menu module 412 is configured to receivemenu calls from various applications 410 and to service those calls bydisplaying a menu on a display screen according to the parametersprovided by the application 410 making the menu call. The menu module412 also manages menu selections made under a GUI 414 supported byoperating system 408. Although modules 412 and 414 are illustrated asbeing part of operating system 408, it is noted that such modules mightalso function as stand-alone modules stored in memory 404 and executableon processor 400. In general, although the functioning of modules 412and 414 as part of operating system 408 is preferred, it is not intendedas a limitation regarding their implementation by a computer 300.

In addition to managing typical menuing functions, the “hierarchicalmenu with ambiguous selection module” 412 implements a hierarchical menuin accordance with application programs 410 that support hierarchicalmenus. Thus, for applications 410 designed to provide hierarchicalmenus, menu module 412 is configured to implement those hierarchicalmenus as hierarchical menus with ambiguous selection. The implementationof a hierarchical menu as a hierarchical menu with ambiguous selectioncan occur automatically for any application making a hierarchical menucall to operating system 408, or it can occur based on a specificrequest from an application 410 to implement the hierarchical menu as ahierarchical menu with ambiguous selection. Thus, small-screen computerdevice manufacturers can configure devices to automatically providehierarchical menus with ambiguous selection for application developers.This enables application developers to design hierarchical menus, bothextended and short menus, in a typical manner without making any changesto their application source code. Alternatively, small-screen computerdevice manufacturers can configure devices to provide hierarchical menuswith ambiguous selection by default, or upon request for applicationdevelopers. This enables application developers to design hierarchicalmenus in a typical manner and further allows them to determine ifapplication menus will be implemented as hierarchical menus withambiguous selection by making a simple selection through theirapplication source code to identify what action should occur in responseto an ambiguous selection and populate short menus with preferably thoseactions, tasks or other commands most commonly used for such displayedpage on the screen.

FIGS. 3 j, 3 k, 3 m, 3 n and 10 a (discussed later herein) illustrateexemplary embodiments of a computer in the form of various handheldelectronic devices that are suitable for implementing embodiments of ahierarchical menu. Additionally, FIGS. 3 b-3 h, 3 p and 3 r illustratevarious keyboard layouts that can be used on such devices.

The computer 300 in the form of a handheld electronic device includes aninput portion and an output display portion. The output display portioncan be a display screen, such as an LCD or other similar display device.

The input portion includes a plurality of keys that can be of a physicalnature such as actuable buttons or they can be of a software nature,typically constituted by virtual representations of physical keys on adisplay screen (referred to herein as “software keys”). It is alsocontemplated that the user input can be provided as a combination of thetwo types of keys. Each key of the plurality of keys has at least oneactuable action which can be the input of a character, a command or afunction. In this context, “characters” are contemplated to exemplarilyinclude alphabetic letters, language symbols, numbers, punctuation,insignias, icons, pictures, and even a blank space. Input commands andfunctions can include such things as delete, backspace, moving a cursorup, down, left or right, initiating an arithmetic function or command,initiating a command or function specific to an application program orfeature in use, initiating a command or function programmed by the userand other such commands and functions that are well known to thosepersons skilled in the art. Specific keys or other types of inputdevices can be used to navigate through the various applications andfeatures thereof. Further, depending on the application or feature inuse, specific keys can be enabled or disabled.

In the case of physical keys, all or a portion of the plurality of keyshave one or more indicia displayed at their top surface and/or on thesurface of the area adjacent the respective key, the particular indiciarepresenting the character(s), command(s) and/or function(s) typicallyassociated with that key. In the instance where the indicia of a key'sfunction is provided adjacent the key, it is understood that this may bea permanent insignia that is, for instance, printed on the device coverbeside the key, or in the instance of keys located adjacent the displayscreen, a current indicia for the key may be temporarily shown nearbythe key on the screen.

In the case of software keys, the indicia for the respective keys areshown on the display screen, which in one embodiment is enabled bytouching the display screen, for example, with a stylus to generate thecharacter or activate the indicated command or function. Such displayscreens may include one or more touch interfaces, including atouchscreen. A non-exhaustive list of touchscreens includes, forexample, resistive touchscreens, capacitive touchscreens, projectedcapacitive touchscreens, infrared touchscreens and surface acoustic wave(SAW) touchscreens.

Physical and software keys can be combined in many different ways asappreciated by those skilled in the art. In one embodiment, physical andsoftware keys are combined such that the plurality of enabled keys for aparticular application or feature of the handheld electronic device isshown on the display screen in the same configuration as the physicalkeys. Thus, the desired character, command or function is obtained bydepressing the physical key corresponding to the character, command orfunction displayed at a corresponding position on the display screen,rather than touching the display screen. To aid the user, indicia forthe characters, commands and/or functions most frequently used arepreferably positioned on the physical keys and/or on the area around orbetween the physical keys. In this manner, the user can more readilyassociate the correct physical key with the character, command orfunction displayed on the display screen.

The various characters, commands and functions associated with keyboardtyping in general are traditionally arranged using various conventions.The most common of these in the United States, for instance, is theQWERTY keyboard layout. Others include the QWERTZ, AZERTY, and Dvorakkeyboard configurations of the English-language alphabet.

The QWERTY keyboard layout is the standard English-language alphabetickey arrangement 44, as shown in FIG. 3 b. In this configuration, Q, W,E, R, T and Y are the letters on the top left, alphabetic row. It wasdesigned by Christopher Sholes, who invented the typewriter. Thekeyboard layout was organized by him to prevent people from typing toofast and jamming the keys. The QWERTY layout was included in Sholes U.S.Pat. No. 207,559 as filed in 1875.

The QWERTZ keyboard layout is normally used in German-speaking regions.This alphabetic key arrangement 44 is shown in FIG. 3 c. In thisconfiguration, Q, W, E, R, T and Z are the letters on the top left,alphabetic row. It differs from the QWERTY keyboard layout by exchangingthe “Y” with a “Z”. This is because “Z” is a much more common letterthan “Y” in German and the letters “T” and “Z” often appear next to eachother in the German language.

The AZERTY keyboard layout is normally used in French-speaking regions.This alphabetic key arrangement 44 is shown in FIG. 3 d. In thisconfiguration, A, Z, E, R, T and Y are the letters on the top left,alphabetic row. It is similar to the QWERTY layout, except that theletters Q and A are swapped, the letters Z and W are swapped, and theletter M is in the middle row instead of the bottom one.

The Dvorak keyboard layout was designed in the 1930s by August Dvorakand William Dealey. This alphabetic key arrangement 44 is shown in FIG.3 e. It was developed to allow a typist to type faster. About 70% ofwords are typed on the home row compared to about 32% with a QWERTYkeyboard layout, and more words are typed using both hands. It is saidthat in eight hours, fingers of a QWERTY typist travel about 16 miles,but only about 1 mile for the Dvorak typist.

Alphabetic key arrangements in full keyboards and typewriters are oftenpresented along with numeric key arrangements. An exemplary numeric keyarrangement is shown in FIGS. 3 b-3 e where the numbers 1-9 and 0 arepositioned above the alphabetic keys. In another numeric keyarrangement, numbers share keys with the alphabetic characters, such asthe top row of the QWERTY keyboard. Yet another exemplary numeric keyarrangement is shown in FIG. 3 f, where a numeric keypad 46 is spacedfrom the alphabetic/numeric key arrangement. The numeric keypad 46includes the numbers “7”, “8”, “9” arranged in a top row, “4”, “5”, “6”arranged in a second row, “1”, “2”, “3” arranged in a third row, and “0”in a bottom row, consistent with what may be found on a “ten-key”computer keyboard keypad. Additionally, a numeric phone key arrangement42 is shown in FIG. 3 g.

As shown in FIG. 3 g, the numeric phone key arrangement 42 may alsoutilize a surface treatment on the surface of the center “5” key. Thissurface treatment is such that the surface of the key is distinctivefrom the surface of other keys. Preferably the surface treatment is inthe form of a raised bump or recessed dimple 43. This bump or dimple 43is typically standard on telephones and is used to identify the “5” keythrough touch alone. Once the user has identified the “5” key, it ispossible to identify the remainder of the phone keys through touch alonebecause of their standard placement. The bump or dimple 43 preferablyhas a shape and size that is readily evident to a user through touch. Anexample bump or dimple 43 may be round, rectangular, or have anothershape if desired. Alternatively, raised bumps may be positioned on thehousing around the “5” key and do not necessarily have to be positioneddirectly on the key.

It is desirable for handheld electronic devices 300 to include acombined text-entry keyboard and a telephony keyboard. Examples of suchmobile electronic devices include mobile stations, cellular telephones,wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), two-way paging devices, andothers. Various keyboards are used with such devices depending in parton the physical size of the handheld electronic device. Some of theseare termed full keyboard, reduced keyboard, and phone keypads.

In embodiments of a handheld electronic device having a full keyboard,only one alphabetic character is associated with each one of a pluralityof physical keys. Thus, with an English-language keyboard, there are atleast 26 keys in the plurality, one for each letter of the Englishalphabet. In such embodiments using the English-language alphabet, oneof the keyboard layouts described above is usually employed, and withthe QWERTY keyboard layout being the most common.

One device that uses a full keyboard for alphabetic characters andincorporates a combined numeric keyboard is shown in FIG. 3 j. In thisdevice, numeric characters share keys with alphabetic characters on thetop row of the QWERTY keyboard. Another device that incorporates acombined alphabetic/numeric keyboard is shown in FIG. 3 k. This deviceutilizes numeric characters in a numeric phone key arrangementconsistent with the ITU Standard E.161, as shown in FIG. 3 g. Thenumeric characters share keys with alphabetic characters on the leftside of the keyboard.

In order to further reduce the size of a handheld electronic devicewithout making the physical keys or software keys too small, suchembodiments of a handheld electronic device use a reduced keyboard,where more than one character/command/function is associated with eachof at least a portion of the plurality of keys. This results in certainkeys being ambiguous since more than one character is represented by orassociated with the key, even though only one of those characters istypically intended by the user when activating the key.

Thus, certain software is contained in the processor of the handheldelectronic device to determine or predict what letter or word wasintended by the user. Predictive text technologies can alsoautomatically correct common spelling errors. Predictive textmethodologies often include a disambiguation engine and/or a predictiveeditor application. This helps facilitate easy spelling and composition,since the software is preferably intuitive software with a large wordlist and the ability to increase that list based on the frequency ofword usage. The software preferably also has the ability to recognizecharacter letter sequences that are common to the particular language,such as, in the case of English, words ending in “ing”. Such systems canalso “learn” the typing style of the user making note of frequently usedwords to increase the predictive aspect of the software. With predictiveeditor applications, the display of the device depicts possiblecharacter sequences corresponding to the keystrokes that were entered.Typically, the most commonly used word is displayed first. The user mayselect other, less common words manually, or otherwise. Other types ofpredictive text computer programs may be utilized with the keyboardarrangement and keyboard described herein, without limitation.

The multi-tap method of character selection has been in use a number ofyears for permitting users to enter text using a touch screen device ora conventional telephone key pad such as specified under ITU E 1.161,among other devices. Multi-tap requires a user to press a key a varyingnumber of times, generally within a limited period of time, to input aspecific letter, thereby spelling the desired words of the message. Arelated method is the long tap method, where a user depresses the keyuntil the desired character appears on the display out of a rotatingseries of letters.

A “text on nine keys” type system uses predictive letter patterns toallow a user to ideally press each key representing a letter only onceto enter text. Unlike multi-tap which requires a user to indicate adesired character by a precise number of presses of a key, orkeystrokes, the “text on nine keys” system uses a predictive textdictionary and established letter patterns for a language tointelligently guess which one of many characters represented by a keythat the user intended to enter. The predictive text dictionary isprimarily a list of words, acronyms, abbreviations and the like that canbe used in the composition of text. Generally, all possible characterstring permutations represented by a number of keystrokes entered by auser are compared to the words in the predictive text dictionary and asubset of the permutations is shown to the user to allow selection ofthe intended character string. The permutations are generally sorted bylikelihood of occurrence which is determined from the number of wordsmatched in the predictive text dictionary and various metrics maintainedfor these words. Where the possible character string permutations do notmatch any words in the predictive text dictionary, the set ofestablished letter patterns for a selected language can be applied tosuggest the most likely character string permutations, and then requirethe user to input a number of additional keystrokes in order to enterthe desired word.

The keys of reduced keyboards are laid out with various arrangements ofcharacters, commands and functions associated therewith. In regards toalphabetic characters, the different keyboard layouts identified aboveare selectively used based on a user's preference and familiarity; forexample, the QWERTY keyboard layout is most often used by Englishspeakers who have become accustomed to the key arrangement.

FIG. 3 m shows a handheld electronic device 10 that has an example of areduced keyboard using the QWERTY keyboard layout on a physical keyboardarray of twenty keys, with five columns and four rows. Fourteen keys areused for alphabetic characters and ten keys are used for numbers. Nineof the ten numbers share a key with alphabetic characters. The “space”key and the number “0” share the same key, which is centered on thedevice and centered below the remainder of the numbers on the keyboard14. The four rows include a first row 50, a second row 52, a third row54, and a fourth row 56. The five columns include a first column 60, asecond column 62, a third column 64, a fourth column 66, and a fifthcolumn 68. Each of the keys in the first row 50, second row 52, andthird row 54 is uniformly sized while the keys in the fourth, bottom row56 have different sizes relative to one another and to the keys in thefirst three rows 50, 52, 54. The rows and columns are straight, althoughthe keys in the fourth row 56 do not align completely with the columnsbecause of their differing sizes. The columns substantially align withthe longitudinal axis x-x of the device 300 b.

FIG. 3 n shows a handheld electronic device 300 b that has an exemplaryphysical keyboard array of 20 keys, with five columns and four rows. Anexploded view of the keyboard is presented in FIG. 3 r. Fourteen keys onthe keyboard 14 are associated with alphabetic characters and ten keysare associated with numbers. The four rows include a first row 50, asecond row 52, a third row 54, and a fourth row 56. The five columnsinclude a first column 60, a second column 62, a third column 64, afourth column 66, and a fifth column 68. Many of the keys have differentsizes than the other keys, and the rows are non-linear. In particular,the rows are V-shaped, with the middle key in the third column 64representing the point of the V. The columns are generally straight, butthe outer two columns 60, 62, 66, 68 angle inwardly toward the middlecolumn 64. To readily identify the phone user interface (the second userinterface), the numeric phone keys 0-9 include a color scheme that isdifferent from that of the remaining keys associated with the QWERTY keyarrangement. In this example, the color scheme of the numeric phone keyshas a two-tone appearance, with the upper portion of the numeric keysbeing a first color and the lower portion of the numeric keys being asecond color. As depicted, the upper portion of the keys is white withblue letters and the lower portion of the keys is blue with whiteletters. Most of the remaining keys associated with the QWERTY keyarrangement are predominantly the second, blue color with whitelettering. The first color may be lighter than the second color, ordarker than the second color. In addition, the keyboard 14 includes a“send” key 6 and an “end” key 8. The “send” key 6 is positioned in theupper left corner of the keyboard 14 and the “end” key 8 is positionedin the upper right corner. The “send” key 6 and “end” key 8 may havedifferent color schemes than the remainder of the keys in order todistinguish them from other keys. In addition, the “send” and “end” keys6, 8 may have different colors from one another. In the example shown,the “send” key 6 is green and the “end” key 8 is red. Different colorsmay be utilized, if desired.

FIG. 3 p shows a similar format for the reduced QWERTY arrangement ofalphabetic characters 44 as presented in FIG. 3 m, but the numeric phonekey arrangement 42 is positioned in the first 60, second 62, and third64 columns instead of being centered on the keyboard 14. The first row50 of keys includes in order the following key combinations for the textentry and telephony mode: “QW/1”, “ER/2”, “TY/3”, “UI”, and “OP”. Thesecond row 52 includes the following key combinations in order: “AS/4”,“DF/51”, “GH/6”, “JK/,”, and “L/.”. The third row 54 includes thefollowing key combinations in order: “ZX/7”, “CV/8”, “BN/9”, “M/sym” and“backspace/delete”. The fourth row 56 includes the following keycombinations in order: “next/*”, “space/0”, “shift/#”, “alt” and“return/enter”. The keys in each of the rows are of uniform size and therows and columns are straight.

Another embodiment of a reduced alphabetic keyboard is found on astandard phone keypad. Most handheld electronic devices having a phonekey pad also typically include alphabetic key arrangements overlaying orcoinciding with the numeric keys as shown in FIG. 3 h. Such alphanumericphone keypads are used in many, if not most, traditional handheldtelephony mobile electronic devices such as cellular handsets. Asdescribed above, the International Telecommunications Union (“ITU”) hasestablished phone standards for the arrangement of alphanumeric keys.The standard phone numeric key arrangement shown in FIG. 3 g (noalphabetic letters) and 3 h (with alphabetic letters) corresponds to ITUStandard E.161, entitled “Arrangement of Digits, Letters, and Symbols onTelephones and Other Devices That Can Be Used for Gaining Access to aTelephone Network.” This standard is also known as ANSI TI.703-1995/1999and ISO/IEC 9995-8:1994. Regarding the numeric arrangement, it can beaptly described as a top-to-bottom ascending orderthree-by-three-over-zero pattern.

The table below identifies the alphabetic characters associated witheach number for some other phone keypad conventions.

Mobile Phone Keypad Number on ITU #11 #111 Key E.161 Australia #1(Europe) (Europe) 1 QZ ABC ABC 2 ABC ABC ABC DEF DEF 3 DEF DEF DEF GHIGHI 4 GHI GHI GHI JKL JKL 5 JKL JKL JKL MNO MNO 6 MNO MNO MN PQR PQR 7PQRS PRS PRS STU STU 8 TUV TUV TUV UVW VWX 9 WXYZ WXY WXY XYZ YZ 0 OQZ

It should also be appreciated that other alphabetic character and numbercombinations can be used beyond those identified above when deemeduseful to a particular application.

As noted earlier, multi-tap software has been in use for a number ofyears permitting users to enter text using a conventional telephonekeypad such as specified under ITU E 1.161 or on a touch screen display,among other devices. Multi-tap requires a user to press a key a varyingnumber of times, generally within a limited period of time, to input aspecific letter associated with the particular key, thereby spelling thedesired words of the message. A related method is the long tap method,where a user depresses the key until the desired character appears onthe display.

Referring to FIGS. 6 a-6 g, 7, 10 a and 10 b, the following is adiscussion and comparison of the use of the extended and short menus inan embodiment of a handheld electronic device 300 b.

In this embodiment, the device 300 b has a first input controller, whichis preferably a navigation tool 120 having a depressible rolling memberor trackball 121, which is used to access the short menu. The handhelddevice 300 b also has a second input controller, which in this case is amenu key 606, which is used to access the applicable extended menu.These menus are based on the interface principle of see and click. Inthis manner, users do not have to remember commands or options becausethey can view these options at any time.

Referring now to FIG. 6 c, there is shown a portion of the device 300 b,which depicts a display portion 602, and a part of an input portion 604.The display portion 602 is used as a graphical user interface, sometimesreferred to herein a GUI or just UI for user interface. The trackball121 and the menu key 606 are part of the input portion 604. To the rightof the trackball 121 is a back key 608, which is used to back-up throughprevious screens or menus displayed on the display portion. The inputportion also includes a keyboard (See FIGS. 10 a and 10 b), which isdiscussed later herein.

The initial screen for the device 300 b is a home screen 610 a and 610b. Two examples 610 a and 610 b are shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, whichshow different sets of icons representing various applications that areavailable on the device 300 b. The user can perform desired high-levelactivities from the home screen, and within an application explore andaccess functionality of the selected application.

The menu key or button 606 is to the left of the trackball 121 andactivates an extended menu, which contains high level actions desirablefrom the home screen or application specific commands when initiatedfrom a selected application. The menu key or button 606 provides aconsistent location where the user can look for commands. Eachapplication has its own extended menu consisting of application-specificmenus.

Clicking (depressing) the trackball 121 when an icon on the home screenis highlighted opens the application, preferably to a common page usedby users. For example, if the email message's icon is highlighted, thena page listing the messages will open. When not on the home screen butwhile a page of an application is displayed without a menu showing, ifthe trackball 121 is clicked, this is presently referred to as anambiguous selection, since several commands may apply in thatcircumstance. This ambiguous selection will cause a short menu to appearon the GUI. The short menu contains a list of menu items that arepreferably the most commonly used commands in the present screencontext. These short menus again are based on the interface principle ofsee and click. The options or menus change according to the task athand.

The items shown in these short menus preferably are those that a userperforms frequently. In other embodiments, the short menu is selectedbased on either predefined user or programmer preference. These shortmenus are preferably correctly organized, worded clearly, and behavecorrectly in order for the user to understand what options they shouldexpect to see, and how to access the additional functionality specificto the selected application.

In at least one embodiment, the items displayed in the short menu aredynamically updated depending upon the user's selection of items fromthe extended menu. When items are selected from the extended menurepeatedly they are ranked and depending upon their number of selectionswill relatively appear in the short menu. The number of items in theshort menu is preferably between two and ten items. The items displayedin the short menu can also be user selected in one embodiment.

In another embodiment, the information for the short menu is storedlocally as well as at a central location. The transmission of the shortmenus that are applicable for the particular user is via a communicationsystem as described below. The information stored at the centrallocation allows the user to access that information on multiple devices.This will allow the user to experience identical menus on differentdevices. This is helpful when a user would like to encounter the sameinterface, but uses the devices in different ways. The informationalternatively may be stored on a memory card and transferred betweendevices via the memory card.

For purposes of example, in the following disclosure, the use of themenus, trackball and keys are discussed relative to the use of an emailmessage application.

Initially, the user uses the trackball 121 to scroll to the desiredapplication. In this case, it is the email messaging application. InFIGS. 6 a and 6 b, the email icon 612 (a letter envelope) is highlightedin a conventional manner, for example, with a frame as shown in FIG. 6 aor with a highlighted background as depicted in FIG. 6 b. Then, the menukey 606 is activated by depressing or “clicking” it, which brings up ahigh level extended menu 614 as shown in FIG. 6 c. This menu 614 caninclude the following menu items:

Compose . . . --------------- Search . . . Applications Settings--------------- Profile < Normal > --------------- BlueTooth On/OffWireless On/Off Key Lock On/Off --------------- Help

For example, clicking on “Compose” would initiate the address bookfunction and allow the user to select an addressee, select the type ofmessage (email, SMS, IM, etc.) and proceed with the composition of amessage. However, for the present example, the user desires to opentheir email message mailbox and view a list of email messages. Inanother embodiment, the menu includes the option “close,” which willclose the menu. Preferably, the option to close the menu is listed nearthe bottom. This enables closing of the menu without requiring the useof an additional key to close the menu.

To do this, the menu key 606 is clicked again and the extended menu forthe email messaging application is displayed, as shown in FIG. 6 d. Ifthe menu item “Open” is not already highlighted, then the trackball 121is used to scroll to this item such that it is highlighted. Once themenu item “Open” is highlighted, the trackball 121 is clicked. A list ofemail messages 616 is displayed on the GUI as shown in FIG. 6 e.

In order to open and read a particular email message, the trackball 121is then used to scroll to the desired email message in the displayedlist to highlight it. The menu key 606 is clicked and the extended menu618 is displayed, for example as shown in FIG. 6 d. If the menu item“Open” is not already highlighted, then the trackball 121 is used toscroll to this item such that it is highlighted. Once the menu item“Open” is highlighted, the trackball 121 is clicked. The desired message620 is displayed on the GUI as shown in FIG. 6 f.

The user then decides what to do as a result of reading the message. Toperform the next action, the user clicks the menu key 606 and anotherextended menu 622 appears, as shown in FIG. 6 g. If not alreadyhighlighted, the user then scrolls to the desired menu item using thetrackball 121 until the desired menu item (action or task) ishighlighted. Then, the user clicks the trackball 121 to activate thedesired action or task.

The use of the short menu usually requires fewer clicks to perform thesame action as compared to the use of solely the extended menus. Forexample, the following is an embodiment using the ambiguous selectionsand/or short menus to open the email messaging application and to open aparticular email message.

Starting from the home screen or menu 602, the trackball 121 is used toscroll to and highlight the email message icon 612 as shown in FIGS. 6 aand 6 b. Clicking the trackball 121 directly opens the list of messagesas shown in FIG. 6 e. The trackball 121 is clicked while no menu ispresent and this action is an ambiguous selection since more than oneaction or task is possible. This ambiguous selection while on the homescreen 602 and with the email icon 612 highlighted is treated by themenu program and system as a direction or command to open thehighlighted application. In this embodiment, it is believed that theuser is attempting to perform the task of opening the email applicationprogram and the menu program is programmed accordingly. Displaying thelist of emails, 616 is the action or task is believed to be the mostcommon desired task or action, and thus to the user, the procedureappears intuitive. Such ambiguous selection for other application ispreferably programmed with the most common desired task or action forthe selected application.

In this regard, it is appreciated that to open the email message listtook two clicks and one scrolling using the extended menus, whereas withthe ambiguous selection routine of the menu program, this was reduced tojust a single click.

Now, with the email message list 616 on the display, the user scrolls tothe desired email message, clicks with the trackball 121, and thedesired email message 620 is displayed on the screen 110 (See FIG. 10a), as shown in FIG. 6 f Again, there is no menu on the display 110 andthe action is an ambiguous selection since more than one action or taskis possible.

In this regard, it is also appreciated that to open a desired emailmessage took two clicks and possibly a scroll, whereas with theambiguous selection routine of the menu program, this was reduced tojust a single click.

While the user is viewing the message 620 on the GUI display 110 afterhaving read its contents, the user clicks the trackball 121 makinganother ambiguous selection, again since no menu is on display 110 andmore than one action or task is possible. This ambiguous selectioncauses the menu program to display a short menu 624, preferably of menuitem corresponding to actions or tasks commonly performed by users atthat point. In this embodiment, a short menu 624 is shown in FIG. 7, andcontains the actions or tasks—“Reply”, “Forward” and “Reply All.” Theuser then decides which action or task to perform and scrolls to it andclicks the trackball. Novice and experienced users alike benefit fromthe reduction in information displayed on the menu through the removalof less commonly used tasks. The short menu 624 as shown in FIG. 7contains a title “Email Message,” thus providing information about theapplication that is associated with the menu. Likewise, other titles forother menus would be appropriate at times when menus are displayed inconnection with other applications. In other embodiments, the short menufeatures the menu item “close” in addition to those items describedabove.

Thus, the short menu provides convenient access to the high level, mostoften-used commands associated with an application. The short menudisplayed can also depend on the position of the cursor within thedisplayed page. The short menu can be considered as a shortcut tocommands that make sense to the task at hand. In some cases when on thehome screen, rather than opening the indicated application, a short menucan be displayed with the more common subset of actions, tasks or othercommands by making an ambiguous selection by clicking on a highlightedapplication icon on the home screen.

If the desired action or task is not listed on the short menu, the usercan click the menu key 606 to view the extended menu, such as shown inFIG. 6 g using the exemplary email messaging scenario. Alternatively,the short menu 624 can have a menu item that allows the user to scrollto and select the item as shown in FIG. 6 g. Once that menu item hasbeen selected then the extended menu replaces the short menu. Forexample, the short menu in FIG. 7 has a menu item “show more” for thispurpose. The name of this menu item can be any other that conveys asimilar meaning, such a “Full” or “Extended” or an icon that is used bythe device provider and identified in its literature to have thatmeaning. Likewise, the menu key 606 in a preferred embodiment featuresan icon or the like that is shown next to the “show more” menu item.

It is also noted that commands for various tasks can also be input viathe keyboard by typing them and entering it. More experienced users mayuse this feature to further reduce number of keystrokes in somesituations.

Other applications of short menus are possible as well. Another exampleof the use of a short menu is when the device features soft keys, whichcan be user customizable. Since these softkeys are user customizable, ashort menu can be activated when the soft key is activated two timeswithout any additional user input and/or within a predefined time. Theshort menu would present options to change the soft key to bring updifferent program options. The short menu likewise could feature theextended menu features and close options mentioned above.

Example methods for implementing an embodiment of a hierarchical menuand ambiguous selection will now be described with primary reference tothe flow diagram of FIG. 8. The methods apply generally to the exemplaryembodiments discussed above with respect to FIGS. 6 a-6 g and 7. Theelements of the described methods may be performed by any appropriatemeans including, for example, by hardware logic blocks on an ASIC or bythe execution of processor-readable instructions defined on aprocessor-readable medium.

A “processor-readable medium,” as used herein, can be any means that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions foruse by or execution by a processor. A processor-readable medium can be,without limitation, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific examples of a processor-readable medium include,among others, an electrical connection (electronic) having one or morewires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory(RAM) (magnetic), a read-only memory (ROM) (magnetic), an erasableprogrammable-read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber(optical), a rewritable compact disc (CD-RW) (optical), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical), and a solid statestorage device (magnetic; e.g., flash memory).

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary method 800 for implementing ahierarchical menu with ambiguous selection on a computer device 300 suchas a PDA or other similar device having a small display screen. Themethod 800 describes a hierarchical menu process that could continuewell beyond the number of submenus that are discussed in the methoditself. Thus, the extent of method 800 is not intended as a limitation.Rather, the extent of method 800 is intended to generally express themanner by which a hierarchical menu with ambiguous selection can beimplemented in lesser and greater degrees of size and complexity.

Initially, there is displayed a home screen 802 on the GUI. The userscrolls to a particular application using a navigation tool. The usercan then depress the menu key to initiate a non-ambiguous selection 804of that particular application that is received by the method 800. Themethod 800 then causes the selected application to opean an application806 and display a page 808 on the GUI. Alternatively, the user can makean ambiguous selection 810, for example, if the navigation tool is atrackball having a depressible rolling member, the user depresses therolling member when no menu is present. The method 800 receives theambiguous selection 810 and then must determine whether there is a shortmenu for this application 812. If there is no short menu, then themethod 800 causes the application to open 806 and display a page 808. Ifthere is a short menu, then the method causes the display of theapplication short menu 814. The user then scrolls to the desired menuitem and depresses the rolling member. The method 800 receives anon-ambiguous selection of the menu item 816 and either displays a pageor causes the computer to perform the task selected 818.

Once a page is displayed 808 or 818, the user again has two choices. Theuser can depress the menu key and the method 800 receives a command todisplay an extended menu 820 corresponding to the displayed page. Themethod 800 then displays that extended menu 822. The user then scrollsto a particular menu item and depresses the rolling member, which causesthe method 800 to receive a non-ambiguous selection of a menu item 824.The method 800 then displays a page or performs the task per theselection 826. Alternatively, the user can depress the rolling memberwith no menu displayed causing an ambiguous selection 828. The method800 receives this ambiguous selection 828 and causes the display of acorresponding short menu 830, or the method 800 can be programmed toperform a particular task that is the most common for the displayed page(not shown in FIG. 8). With the short menu displayed, the user can thenscroll to the desired menu item and depress the rolling member togenerate a non-ambiguous selection 832. The method 800 receives thenon-ambiguous selection of the menu item 832 and causes the display of apage or performance of a task per the selection 834.

If the user is presented with another displayed page, the user canrepeat steps 820 through 826 or 828 through 834, depending on whetherthe user uses an extended menu or short menu, respectively.

Once the particular activity is completed, the user can use the back keyto navigate back through the various pages displayed until the userreaches a page from which the user can perform another activity orselect another application upon reaching the home screen 802. Thecomputer can be equipped with an escape key to go to the home screen 802directly. Alternatively, an ambiguous selection to display a short menuor a non-ambiguous selection can be made to display a short or extendedmenu that has a home screen menu item.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computing environment suitable forimplementing a computer 300 such as discussed above with reference toFIGS. 1-8 and 10. Although one specific configuration is shown in FIG.9, computer 300 may be implemented in other computing configurations.

The computing environment 900 includes a general-purpose computingsystem in the form of a computer 902. The components of computer 902 caninclude, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processingunits 904, a system memory 906, and a system bus 908 that couplesvarious system components including the processor 904 to the systemmemory 906.

The system bus 908 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. An example of a system bus 908would be a Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus, also known as aMezzanine bus.

Computer 902 typically includes a variety of computer-readable media.Such media can be any available media that is accessible by computer 902and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable andnon-removable media. The system memory 906 includes computer readablemedia in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)910, and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM) 912. Abasic input/output system (BIOS) 914, containing the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within computer 902, suchas during start-up, is stored in ROM 912. RAM 910 typically containsdata and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/orpresently operated on by the processing unit 904.

Computer 902 can also include other removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. By way of example, FIG. 9illustrates a hard disk drive 916 for reading from and writing to anon-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown), a magnetic diskdrive 918 for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatilemagnetic disk 920 (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive 922for reading from and/or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk 924 such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or other optical media. The harddisk drive 916, magnetic disk drive 918, and optical disk drive 922 areeach connected to the system bus 908 by one or more data mediainterfaces 926. Alternatively, the hard disk drive 916, magnetic diskdrive 918, and optical disk drive 922 can be connected to the system bus908 by a known interface (not shown) including but not limited to SCSIand IDE.

The disk drives and their associated computer-readable media providenon-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for computer 902. Although the exampleillustrates a hard disk 916, a removable magnetic disk 920, and aremovable optical disk 924, it is to be appreciated that other types ofcomputer readable media which can store data that is accessible by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes or other magnetic storage devices,flash memory cards, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or otheroptical storage, random access memories (RAM), read only memories (ROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and thelike, can also be utilized to implement the exemplary computing systemand environment.

Any number of program modules can be stored on the hard disk 916,magnetic disk 920, optical disk 924, ROM 912, and/or RAM 910, includingby way of example, an operating system 926, one or more applicationprograms 928, other program modules 930, and program data 932. Each ofsuch operating system 926, one or more application programs 928, otherprogram modules 930, and program data 932 (or some combination thereof)may include an embodiment of a caching scheme for user network accessinformation.

Computer 902 can include a variety of computer/processor readable mediaidentified as communication media. Communication media typicallyembodies computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier waveor other transport mechanism and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one ormore of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above arealso included within the scope of computer readable media.

A user can enter commands and information into computer system 902 viainput devices such as a keyboard 934 and a pointing device 936 (e.g., a“mouse”). Other input devices 938 (not shown specifically) may include amicrophone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, serial port, scanner,and/or the like. These and other input devices are connected to theprocessing unit 904 via input/output interfaces 940 that are coupled tothe system bus 908, but may be connected by other interface and busstructures, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serialbus (USB).

A monitor 942 or other type of display device can also be connected tothe system bus 908 via an interface, such as a video adapter 944. Inaddition to the monitor 942, other output peripheral devices can includecomponents such as speakers (not shown) and a printer 946 which can beconnected to computer 902 via the input/output interfaces 940.

Computer 902 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computingdevice 948. By way of example, the remote computing device 948 can be apersonal computer, portable computer, a server, a router, a networkcomputer, a peer device or other common network node, and the like. Theremote computing device 948 is illustrated as a portable computer thatcan include many or all of the elements and features described hereinrelative to computer system 902.

Logical connections between computer 902 and the remote computer 948 aredepicted as a local area network (LAN) 950 and a general wide areanetwork (WAN) 952. Such networking environments are commonplace inoffices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.When implemented in a LAN networking environment, the computer 902 isconnected to a local network 950 via a network interface or adapter 954.When implemented in a WAN networking environment, the computer 902typically includes a modem 956 or other means for establishingcommunications over the wide network 952. The modem 956, which can beinternal or external to computer 902, can be connected to the system bus908 via the input/output interfaces 940 or other appropriate mechanisms.It is to be appreciated that the illustrated network connections areexemplary and that other means of establishing communication link(s)between the computers 902 and 948 can be employed.

In a networked environment, such as that illustrated with computingenvironment 900, program modules depicted relative to the computer 902,or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device. Byway of example, remote application programs 958 reside on a memorydevice of remote computer 948. For purposes of illustration, applicationprograms and other executable program components, such as the operatingsystem, are illustrated herein as discrete blocks, although it isrecognized that such programs and components reside at various times indifferent storage components of the computer system 902, and areexecuted by the data processor(s) of the computer.

An exemplary handheld electronic device 300 b is shown in theperspective view of FIG. 10 a and its cooperation in a wireless networkis exemplified in the block diagram of FIG. 11. These figures areexemplary only, and those persons skilled in the art will appreciate theadditional elements and modifications necessary to make the device workin particular network environments.

An exemplary embodiment of the handheld electronic device 300 b as shownin FIG. 10 a is cradleable in the palm of a user's hand. The size of thedevice 300 b is such that a user is capable of operating the deviceusing the same hand that is holding the device. In a preferredembodiment, the user is capable of actuating all features of the device300 b using the thumb of the cradling hand. The preferred embodiment ofthe handheld device 300 b features a keyboard 332 on the face of thedevice 300 b, which is actuable by the thumb of the hand cradling thedevice 300 b. The user may also hold the device 300 b in such a mannerto enable two thumb typing on the device 300 b. Furthermore, the usermay use fingers rather than thumbs to actuate the keys on the device 300b. In order to accommodate palm-cradling of the device 300 b by theaverage person, it is longer (height as shown in FIG. 10 a) than it iswide, and the width is preferably between approximately two and threeinches, but by no means limited to such dimensions.

As may be appreciated from FIG. 10 a, the handheld electronic device 300b comprises a lighted display 110 located above a keyboard 332 suitablefor accommodating textual input to the handheld electronic device 300 bwhen in an operable configuration. Preferably, the screen 110 andkeyboard 332 are located at the front face of the handheld electronicdevice 300 b. As shown, the device 300 b is of unibody construction, butit is also contemplated that the device may be of an alternativeconstruction such as that commonly known as “clamshell” or “flip-phone”style. Regardless, in the operable configuration for the device 300 b,the navigation tool (auxiliary input) 328 is located essentially betweenthe display 110 and the keyboard 332.

In one embodiment, the keyboard 332 comprises a plurality of keys withwhich alphabetic letters are associated on one letter per key basis. Itis contemplated that the keys may be directly marked with letters, orthe letters may be presented adjacent, but clearly in association with aparticular key. This one-to-one pairing between the letters and keys isdepicted in FIGS. 3 j and 3 k and is described in greater detail abovein association therewith. In order to facilitate user input, thealphabetic letters are preferably configured in a familiar QWERTY,QWERTZ, AZERTY, or Dvorak layout, each of which is also discussed ingreater detail above.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 10 a, the keyboard 332 comprises aplurality of keys with which alphabetic letters are also associated, butat least a portion of the individual keys have multiple lettersassociated therewith. This type of configuration is referred to as areduced keyboard (in comparison to the full keyboard describedimmediately above) and can, among others come in QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY,and Dvorak layouts.

FIG. 10 b is an exploded view showing some of the typical componentsfound in the assembly of the electronic device 300 b. The constructionof the device benefits from various manufacturing simplifications. Theinternal components are constructed on a single PCB (printed circuitboard) 102. The keyboard 332 is constructed from a single piece ofmaterial and in a preferred embodiment is made from plastic. Thekeyboard 332 sits over dome switches (not shown) located on the PCB 102in a preferred embodiment. One switch is provided for every key on thekeyboard in the preferred embodiment, but in other embodiments more thanone switch or less than one switch per key are possible configurations.The support frame 101 holds the keyboard 332 and navigation tool 120 inplace above the PCB 102. The support frame 101 also provides anattachment point for the display, (not shown). A lens 103 covers thedisplay to prevent damage. When assembled, the support frame 101 and thePCB 102 are fixably attached to each other and the display is positionedbetween the PCB 102 and support frame 101.

The navigation tool 120 is frictionally engaged with the support frame101, but in a preferred embodiment the navigation tool 120 is removablewhen the device is assembled. This allows for replacement of thenavigation tool 120 if/when it becomes damaged or the user desiresreplacement with a different type of navigation tool 120. In theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 10 a, the navigation tool 120 is atrackball based device having a depressible rolling member or trackball121. Other navigation tools 120 such as joysticks, four-way cursors, ortouch pads are also considered to be within the scope of thisdisclosure. When the navigation tool 120 is a trackball based tool, thetrackball 121 itself can be removed without removal of the navigationtool 120. The removal of the trackball 121 is enabled through the use ofan outer removable ring 123 and an inner removable ring 122. These rings122, 123 ensure that the navigation tool 120 and the trackball 121 areproperly held in place against the support frame 101.

A serial port (preferably a Universal Serial Bus port) 330 and anearphone jack 140 are fixably attached to the PCB 102 and further heldin place by right side element 105. Buttons 130, 131, 132, 133 areattached to switches (not shown), which are connected to the PCB 102.

Final assembly involves placing the top piece 107 and bottom piece 108in contact with support frame 101. Furthermore, the assemblyinterconnects right side element 105 and left side element 106 with thesupport frame 101, PCB 102, and lens 103. These side elements 105, 106provide additional protection and strength to the support structure ofthe device 300 b. In a preferred embodiment, backplate 104 is removablyattached to the other elements of the device.

The block diagram of FIG. 11 representing the electronic device 300 binteracting in the communication network 319 shows the device's 300 binclusion of a microprocessor 338 which controls the operation of thedevice 300 b. The communication subsystem 311 performs all communicationtransmission and reception with the wireless network 319. Themicroprocessor 338 further connects with an auxiliary input/output (I/O)subsystem 328, a serial port (preferably a Universal Serial Bus port)330, a display 322, a keyboard 332, a speaker 334, a microphone 336,random access memory (RAM) 326, and flash memory 324. Othercommunications subsystems 340 and other device subsystems 342 aregenerally indicated as connected to the microprocessor 338 as well. Anexample of a communication subsystem 340 is that of a short-rangecommunication subsystem such as BLUETOOTH® communication module or aninfrared device and associated circuits and components. Additionally,the microprocessor 338 is able to perform operating system functions andpreferably enables execution of software applications on thecommunication device 300 b.

The above described auxiliary I/O subsystem 328 can take the form of avariety of different subsystems including the above described navigationtool 120. As previously mentioned, the navigation tool 120 is preferablya trackball based device, but it can be any one of the other abovedescribed tools. Other auxiliary I/O devices can include externaldisplay devices and externally connected keyboards (not shown). Whilethe above examples have been provided in relation to the auxiliary I/Osubsystem, other subsystems capable of providing input or receivingoutput from the handheld electronic device 300 b are considered withinthe scope of this disclosure.

In a preferred embodiment, the communication device 300 b is designed towirelessly connect with a communication network 319. Some communicationnetworks that the electronic device 300 b may be designed to operate onrequire a subscriber identity module (SIM) or removable user identitymodule (RUIM). Thus, a device 300 b intended to operate on such a systemwill include SIM/RUIM interface 344 into which the SIM/RUIM card (notshown) may be placed. The SIM/RUIM interface 344 can be one in which theSIM/RUIM card is inserted and ejected.

In an exemplary embodiment, the flash memory 324 is enabled to provide astorage location for the operating system, device programs, and data.While the operating system in a preferred embodiment is stored in flashmemory 324, the operating system in other embodiments is stored inread-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). As thoseskilled in the art will appreciate, the operating system, deviceapplication or parts thereof may be loaded in RAM 326 or other volatilememory.

In a preferred embodiment, the flash memory 324 containsprograms/applications 358 for execution on the device 300 b including anaddress book 352, a personal information manager (PIM) 354, and thedevice state 350. Furthermore, programs 358 and data 356 can besegregated upon storage in the flash memory 324 of the device 300 b.However, another embodiment of the flash memory 324 utilizes a storageallocation method such that a program 358 is allocated additional spacein order to store data associated with such program. Other knownallocation methods exist in the art and those persons skilled in the artwill appreciate additional ways to allocate the memory of the device 300b.

In a preferred embodiment, the device 300 b is pre-loaded with a limitedset of programs that enable it to operate on the communication network319. Another program that can be preloaded is a PIM 354 application thathas the ability to organize and manage data items including but notlimited to email, calendar events, voice messages, appointments and taskitems. In order to operate efficiently, memory 324 is allocated for useby the PIM 354 for the storage of associated data. In a preferredembodiment, the information that PIM 354 manages is seamlesslyintegrated, synchronized and updated through the communication network319 with a user's corresponding information on a remote computer (notshown). The synchronization, in another embodiment, can also beperformed through the serial port 330 or other short-range communicationsubsystem 340. Other applications may be installed through connectionwith the wireless network 319, serial port 330 or via other short-rangecommunication subsystems 340.

When the device 300 b is enabled for two-way communication within thewireless communication network 319, it can send and receive signals froma mobile communication service. Examples of communication systemsenabled for two-way communication include, but are not limited to, theGPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network, the UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunication Service) network, the EDGE (Enhanced Data for GlobalEvolution) network, and the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networkand those networks generally described as packet-switched, narrowband,data-only technologies mainly used for short burst wireless datatransfer.

For the systems listed above, the electronic device 300 b must beproperly enabled to transmit and receive signals from the communicationnetwork 319. Other systems may not require such identifying information.A GPRS, UMTS, and EDGE require the use of a SIM (Subscriber IdentityModule) in order to allow communication with the communication network319. Likewise, most CDMA systems require the use of a RUIM (RemovableIdentity Module) in order to communicate with the CDMA network. The RUIMand SIM card can be used in multiple different electronic devices 300 b.The electronic device 300 b may be able to operate some features withouta SIM/RUIM card, but it will not be able to communicate with the network319. In some locations, the electronic device 300 b will be enabled towork with special services, such as “911” emergency, without a SIM/RUIMor with a non-functioning SIM/RUIM card. A SIM/RUIM interface 344located within the device allows for removal or insertion of a SIM/RUIMcard (not shown). This interface 344 can be configured like that of adisk drive or a PCMCIA slot or other known attachment mechanism in theart. The SIM/RUIM card features memory and holds key configurations 351,and other information 353 such as identification and subscriber relatedinformation. The SIM/RUIM card features memory and holds keyconfigurations 351, and other information 353 such as identification andsubscriber related information. Furthermore, a SIM/RUIM card can beenabled to store information about the user including identification,carrier and address book information. With a properly enabled electronicdevice 300 b, two-way communication between the electronic device 300 band communication network 319 is possible.

If the electronic device 300 b is enabled as described above or thecommunication network 319 does not require such enablement, the two-waycommunication enabled device 300 b is able to both transmit and receiveinformation from the communication network 319. The transfer of data canbe from the device 300 b or to the device 300 b. In order to communicatewith the communication network 319, the device 300 b in a preferredembodiment is equipped with an integral or internal antenna 318 fortransmitting signals to the communication network 319. Likewise theelectronic device 300 b in the preferred embodiment is equipped withanother antenna 316 for receiving communication from the communicationnetwork 319. These antennae (316, 318) in another preferred embodimentare combined into a single antenna (not shown). As one skilled in theart would appreciate, the antenna or antennae (316, 318) in anotherembodiment are externally mounted on the device 300 b.

When equipped for two-way communication, the electronic device 300 bfeatures a communication subsystem 311. As is well known in the art,this communication subsystem 311 is modified so that it can support theoperational needs of the device 300 b. The subsystem 311 includes atransmitter 314 and receiver 312 including the associated antenna orantennae (316, 318) as described above, local oscillators (LOs) 313, anda processing module 320 that in a preferred embodiment is a digitalsignal processor (DSP) 320.

A signal received by the electronic device 300 b is first received bythe antenna 316 and then input into a receiver 312, which in a preferredembodiment is capable of performing common receiver functions includingsignal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channelselection and the like, and analog to digital (A/D) conversion. The A/Dconversion allows the DSP 320 to perform more complex communicationfunctions such as demodulation and decoding on the signals that arereceived by DSP 320 from the receiver 312. The DSP 320 is also capableof issuing control commands to the receiver 312. An example of a controlcommand that the DSP 320 is capable of sending to the receiver 312 isgain control, which is implemented in automatic gain control algorithmsimplemented in the DSP 320. Likewise, the electronic device 300 b iscapable of transmitting signals to the communication network 319. TheDSP 320 communicates the signals to be sent to the transmitter 314 andfurther communicates control functions, such as the above described gaincontrol. The signal is emitted by the device 300 b through an antenna318 connected to the transmitter 314.

It is contemplated that device 300 b communication with the wirelessnetwork 319 can be any type of communication that both the wirelessnetwork 319 and device 300 b are enabled to transmit, receive andprocess. In general, these can be classified as voice and data. Voicecommunication is communication in which signals for audible sounds aretransmitted by the device 300 b through the communication network 319.Data is all other types of communication that the device 300 b iscapable of performing within the constraints of the wireless network319.

In the instance of voice communication, voice transmissions thatoriginate from the electronic device 300 b enter the device 300 b thougha microphone 336. The microphone 336 communicates the signals to themicroprocessor 338 for further conditioning and processing. Themicroprocessor 338 sends the signals to the DSP 320 which controls thetransmitter 314 and provides the correct signals to the transmitter 314.Then, the transmitter 314 sends the signals to the antenna 318, whichemits the signals to be detected by a communication network 319.Likewise, when the receiver 312 obtains a signal from the receivingantenna 316 that is a voice signal, it is transmitted to the DSP 320which further sends the signal to the microprocessor 338. Then, themicroprocessor 338 provides a signal to the speaker 334 of the device300 b and the user can hear the voice communication that has beenreceived. The device 300 b in a preferred embodiment is enabled to allowfor full duplex voice transmission.

In another embodiment, the voice transmission may be received by theelectronic device 300 b and translated as text to be shown on thedisplay screen 322 of the electronic device 300 b. The electronic device300 b is also capable of retrieving messages from a voice messagingservice operated by the communication network operator. In a preferredembodiment, the device 300 b displays information in relation to thevoice message, such as the number of voice messages or an indicationthat a new voice message is present on the operating system.

In a preferred embodiment, the display 322 of the electronic device 300b provides an indication about the identity of an incoming call,duration of the voice communication, telephone number of thecommunication device, call history, and other related information. Itshould be appreciated that the above-described embodiments are given asexamples only and one skilled in the art may effect alterations,modifications and variations to the particular embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the application.

As stated above, the electronic device 300 b and communication network319 can be enabled to transmit, receive and process data. Severaldifferent types of data exist and some of these types of data will bedescribed in further detail. One type of data communication that occursover the communication network 319 includes electronic mail (email)messages. Typically an email is text based, but can also include othertypes of data such as picture files, attachments and html. While theseare given as examples, other types of messages are considered within thescope of this disclosure as well.

When the email originates from a source outside of the device and iscommunicated to the device 300 b, it is first received by the receivingantenna 316 and then transmitted to the receiver 312. From the receiver312, the email message is further processed by the DSP 320, and it thenreaches the microprocessor 338. The microprocessor 338 executesinstructions as indicated from the relevant programming instructions todisplay, store or process the email message as directed by the program.In a similar manner, once an email message has been properly processedby the microprocessor 338 for transmission to the communication network319, it is first sent to the DSP 320, which further transmits the emailmessage to the transmitter 314. The transmitter 314 processes the emailmessage and transmits it to the transmission antenna 318, whichbroadcasts a signal to be received by a communication network 319. Whilethe above has been described generally, those skilled in this art willappreciate those modifications which are necessary to enable theelectronic device 300 b to properly transmit the email message over agiven communication network 319.

Furthermore, the email message may instead be transmitted from thedevice 300 b via a serial port 330, another communication port 340, orother wireless communication ports 340. The user of the device 300 b cangenerate a message to be sent using the keyboard 332 and/or auxiliaryI/O 328, and the associated application to generate the email message.Once the email message is generated, the user may execute a send commandwhich directs the email message from the electronic device 300 b to thecommunication network 319. In an exemplary embodiment, a keyboard 332,preferably an alphanumeric keyboard, is used to compose the emailmessage. In a preferred embodiment, an auxiliary I/O device 328 is usedin addition to the keyboard 332.

While the above has been described in relation to email messages, oneskilled in the art could easily modify the procedure to function withother types of data such as SMS text messages, Internet websites,videos, instant messages, programs and ringtones. Once the data isreceived by the microprocessor 338, the data is placed appropriatelywithin the operating system of the device 300 b. This might involvepresenting a message on the display 322 which indicates the data hasbeen received or storing it in the appropriate memory 324 on the device300 b. For example, a downloaded application such as a game will beplaced into a suitable place in the flash memory 324 of the device 300b. The operating system of the device 300 b will also allow forappropriate access to the new application as downloaded.

While the above has been described in relation to a computer 300 andhandheld electronic devices 300 a and 300 b, there are particularclasses of these devices. A handheld communication device is a handheldelectronic device 300 a, 300 b which is capable of communicating with acommunications network which can be data, voice, or combination thereof.

Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing theclaimed invention.

1. A method for displaying an abbreviated menu on the screen of ahandheld electronic device, said method comprising: displaying acursor-navigable page on a screen of a handheld electronic device;initiating an ambiguous request for display of menu optionscorresponding to the displayed page while a cursor is positioned at alocation on the page that is not visually signified for menu displayactuation; and displaying a short menu having a first list of menu itemswhich is a subset of a second list of menu items of an extended menuassociated with the displayed page, said first list of menu items havingbeen assessed a higher probability for being user-selected than at leastsome items of the second list of menu items not included in said firstlist of menu items.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising causingsaid initiation of the ambiguous request for display of menu options byactuating an auxiliary user input device on the handheld electronicdevice.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said auxiliary user inputdevice is a navigation tool that controls movement of the cursor on thescreen of the handheld electronic device.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein said navigation tool is a trackball.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising initiating a non-ambiguous request to display theextended menu associated with the displayed page and responsivelydisplaying the extended menu.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein saidinitiation of a non-ambiguous request to display the extended menuassociated with the displayed page is affected by depressing a dedicatedinput on the handheld electronic device.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein said dedicated input is a push-button on the handheld electronicdevice.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the shortmenu with a menu item that displays the extended menu associated withthe displayed page when selected.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein saidhandheld electronic device comprises a dedicated input in the form of apush-button marked with an extended menu insignia which is the same asan extended menu insignia displayed on the menu item on the short menuthat displays the extended menu when selected.
 10. The method of claim1, further comprising providing the short menu with a menu item thatcloses the short menu.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprisingproviding a menu key for a non-ambiguous request that displays theextended menu associated with the displayed page and displaying theextended menu by activating the menu key.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the short menu overlaps the displayed page on the screen. 13.The method of claim 1, wherein the short menu is displayed on the screenin place of the displayed page.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theshort menu fills a substantial entirety of the screen.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising providing the short menu with a menu itemfor selecting a previous menu.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein saidhandheld electronic device is a wireless handheld communication devicethat transmits data to, and receives data from a communication networkutilizing radio frequency signals.
 17. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid handheld electronic device is sized to be cradled in the palm of auser's hand.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising graspingsaid handheld electronic device by a user and cradling the device in thepalm of the user's grasping hand.
 19. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising operating said handheld electronic device using digits of thesame hand within which the device is grasped.
 20. The method of claim18, further comprising operating said handheld electronic device usingthe thumb of the same hand within which the device is grasped.
 21. Themethod of claim 17, wherein said handheld electronic device is longerthan wide.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the width of saidhandheld electronic device measures between approximately two andapproximately three inches thereby facilitating the device being palmcradled.
 23. The method of claim 1, wherein said handheld electronicdevice further comprises a keyboard suitable for accommodating textualinput to the handheld electronic device and a navigation tool locatedessentially between the keyboard and the screen of the handheldelectronic device.
 24. A handheld electronic device programmed todisplay an abbreviated menu of action options on the screen of thedevice based on a user request and the page that is displayed on thescreen at the time of the user request, said handheld electronic devicecomprising: a screen on which cursor-navigable pages are displayed; akeyboard located below said screen and configured to accommodate textualinput to the handheld electronic device; and a microprocessor having acontrol program associated therewith for controlling operation of saidhandheld electronic device, said control program configured to processan ambiguous request for display of menu options corresponding to thescreen-displayed page when a user menu request is detected and ascreen-navigating cursor is positioned at a location on thescreen-displayed page that is not visually signified for menu displayresponse, and, based on said detection of the user menu request, saidmicroprocessor displays a short menu having a first list of menu itemswhich is a subset of a second list of menu items of an extended menuassociated with the displayed page, said first list of menu items havingbeen assessed a higher probability for being user-selected than at leastsome items of the second list of menu items not included in said firstlist of menu items.
 25. The device of claim 24, further comprising anauxiliary user input device useable for initiating the ambiguous requestfor display of menu options.
 26. The device of claim 25, wherein saidauxiliary user input device is a navigation tool that controls movementof the cursor on the screen of the handheld electronic device.
 27. Thedevice of claim 26, wherein said navigation tool is a trackball.
 28. Thedevice of claim 24, further comprising a dedicated input that whenactuated initiates a non-ambiguous request to display the extended menuassociated with the displayed page.
 29. The device of claim 28, whereinsaid dedicated input is a push-button on the handheld electronic device.30. The device of claim 24, wherein the short menu comprises a menu itemfor displaying the extended menu associated with the displayed page whenselected.
 31. The device of claim 30, further comprising a dedicatedinput in the form of a push-button marked with an extended menu insigniawhich is the same as an extended menu insignia displayed on the menuitem on the short menu that displays the extended menu when selected.32. The device of claim 24, wherein the short menu comprises a menu itemthat closes the short menu.
 33. The device of claim 24, wherein theshort menu fills a substantial entirety of the screen.
 34. The device ofclaim 24, wherein said handheld electronic device is a wireless handheldcommunication device that transmits data to, and receives data from acommunication network utilizing radio frequency signals.
 35. The deviceof claim 34, wherein said handheld electronic device is sized to becradlable in the palm of a user's hand.
 36. The device of claim 35,wherein said handheld electronic device is operable using digits of thesame hand within which the device is cradled.
 37. The device of claim35, wherein said handheld electronic device is operable using the thumbof the same hand within which the device is cradled.
 38. The device ofclaim 35, wherein said handheld electronic device is longer than wide.39. The device of claim 38, wherein the width of said handheldelectronic device measures between approximately two and approximatelythree inches thereby facilitating the device being palm cradled.
 40. Thedevice of claim 26, wherein said navigation tool is located essentiallybetween the display and the keyboard in the operable configuration.